Skanska has been recognized as the biggest office developer for the third time in a row. Between 2017 and 2019 the company delivered the largest volume of office space (470,887 sqm) which comprises its operations across Nordic and CEE regions.
Skanska achieved the first and the second place in terms of office space developed between 2017 and 2019 (470,887 sqm which is almost 20 percent higher in comparison to the second place) and office space in the pipeline to be delivered by 2022 (976,191 sqm with over 387,000 sqm under construction). Within these years the company completed 28 projects which also include the biggest property delivered.
Holding the top position for the third time in a row, proves Skanska’s consistent development and high efficiency of the company’s long-term strategy focused on delivering A-class office space as well as sustainable and end-user-oriented workplaces are consecutively.
Currently, the biggest projects in Skanska’s pipeline include: Generation Park Y (Warsaw, 43,533 sqm, which has been recently leased to PZU Group) and Citygate (Gothenburg comprising 42,713 sqm), followed by Nowy Rynek ph.3 in Poznań, (35,713 sqm), Campus 6.2 & 6.3 in Bucharest, (35,275 sqm) and Sthlm 01 in Stockholm (28,900 sqm).
“As we all well know, the pandemic took its toll on every industry. Thankfully, over the recent years Skanska has established a strong position in all CEE markets, allowing us to continue working without major delays. Despite the situation we were able to finalize two sale transactions and sign the largest lease agreement in the history of the entire Skanska group. We have to keep in mind that in such difficult times, the issues of safety along with people’s well-being are crucial. We feel huge responsibility in this field, which is why we have developed a new office concept, followed by WELL Health and Safety standard which Skanska buildings have been enrolled for recently,” says Katarzyna Zawodna-Bijoch, President and CEO at Skanska Commercial Development Europe, and adds: “None of our achievements would have been possible without dedicated employees who commit themselves every day to the development of the company. The fact that Skanska has been ranked as the largest office developer in Europe by PropertyEU for the third time in a row is only a proof of that.”
“Our 14 ongoing projects continue to proceed well and with minor impacts from the pandemic in construction,” says Jan Odelstam Business Unit President at Skanska Commercial Development Nordic, and adds “We can also see that the leasing market have slowly started to recover. Currently all our ongoing projects have managed to stay healthy and safe and it is impressive to see how everyone on site has found new, smart solutions and adapted into a new situation without any major effects on the construction time plan. We are also very proud of the newly started development of Hyllie Terrass in Malmö which will be the first office building in Sweden to achieve net-zero climate impact during its lifetime.”
As the whole world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Skanska shows exceptional commitment and ability to face today’s needs of the market. The company reported very good results for Q1 2020, including divestment of Generation Park Z in Warsaw which was the subject of preliminary agreement with Deka Immobilien and completing the deal with Credit Suisse on High Five phase 2 in Kraków, followed by signing the biggest in the history leasing agreement with PZU Group in Generation Park Y. Furthermore, other two projects have just been launched – P180 office building in Warsaw and the first phase of H2Office complex in Budapest. Both will provide respectively 32,000 sqm and 26,000 sqm of modern and innovative office space to its tenants.
In the meantime, Skanska has also successfully launched “Care for Life Office Concept” which opens the whole new chapter with an expectational offer for its clients, responding to today’s priorities around safety and adjusting offices to the new reality during the pandemics. The company has also managed to apply for the new WELL Safe-Healthy rating with nine projects and presented the first climate-neutral office project in Central and Eastern Europe, which will be developed in Prague.